A Sad Loss to Music

August 22, 2008 at 9:20 PM

Yesterday I received a text from Justin letting me know that Leroi Moore of The Dave Matthews Band had died. I was shocked. I knew he wasn't touring with the band due to an ATV accident earlier this summer, but also knew he was in rehab and seemed to be recovering well.

I became a DMB fan in junior high. I remember opening my first BMG account - you remember those? Pick out 8-12 CDs (FREE) and over the next year buy 2 or 3 for about $20 a pop. This was pre-online-anything. I remember cutting out the small CD images and sticking them to an order form that you actually snail-mailed in.

So getting my "own" music for the first time, i'm not sure why I picked Under The Table and Dreaming, but I did (and its really had a tremendous impact on me and my musical approach). I love to jam. I love experimenting with songwriting. I tend to use my voice as an instrument - not simply a melody line to embed in your skull (i.e. "love me, love me, say that you love me...")

In a time when the whole world was going grunge crazy, out comes DMB with an acoustic guitar, a weird voice, incredible percussion, a black guy playing violin, a black guy jamming the woodwinds, and a white guy on bass - something didn't make sense.

But it was that 1st album that led me to Crash, Live at Luther College, countless bootlegs, and every album since.

The unique blend of instruments made their sound perfect to my ears. Their live show however, was tough to rival. Even if you're not a fan, you have to appreciate their interplay.

So, today it's hard to believe that Leroi Moore is gone at only 46 years of age.

When I was a kid my friend sent off for the deal where you get the 12 free records, then you buy one per month. He never bought any records. They started sending him threatening letters. His father wrote them back saying the person you have this contract with is 12 years old. He's not obligated to do anything :)

Oh my, that's exactly how I ended up with Under the Table! That particular album holds a very special place in my heart. I listened to it after my first heart break, which was deeply painful for me. For some reason, DMB hit the spot. I bet you sat down like I did and picked out those fiddle licks, didn't you? I wanted to play in a band just like that one. I'm sad and shocked to hear about the death of the sax player.

I was very saddened by this news as well; I've long been a DMB fan and so much of the band's music is just in my blood by now; listening to it is like being with an old friend. My sympathy to all the band members.